Heads or Tails
by tinmiss1939
Summary: "Cheshires are rare creatures, Alice, deeply connected to the soul of Wonderland...It is not wise to upset them." A strange encounter leads to a slightly different ending for Alice and Hatter.


**Disclaimer**: Alice and all its characters are property of Nick Willig, the SyFy Channel, and a whole bunch of other people with more lawyers and money than I have. No copyright infringement is intended. Seriously.

It's the Third Rule of Wonderland: Don't cross a Cheshire Cat. So, when a particularly fluffy Cheshire decided to appear directly in Hatter's path to the Looking Glass Chamber, Hatter decided it was more prudent to trip and fall on his face than kick the beast. A face full of dirt was preferable to whatever an insulted Cheshire would dream up.

He didn't quite manage to catch himself and pebbles embedded themselves into his palms as he skidded to the ground. Hatter coughed out a lungful of dust and slowly turned over on his back, looking for where the damn cat had got to. A yard from his feet, it was sitting primly and licking its coat like it was some kind of normal cat. Thankfully it wasn't grinning yet. It did have one possessive-looking paw on his hat. That wasn't promising.

"Right," Hatter said, taking a deep breath. "Can I help you?"

The cat stared at him and swished its tail a few times. Hatter sat up slowly and brushed some gravel from palms.

"I'm really sorry for the offense." No reaction. "The thing of it is, I can't be late. I've lost an Alice and you know they are a bugger to catch."

The cat looked into the air, seemingly bored with him. Permission to leave? Hatter thought he'd chance it. "I'll just be on my way. No hard feelings, yeah?"

The Cheshire grinned—_Oh, Hell,_ he thought,_ I've done it now_—but then it shot off into the long grass lining the pathway. The only evidence it had ever been there was the swaying of the grass and a bare whisper of magic.

Hatter breathed a quiet thanks to the White Kings of Legend. Cheshire Cats had a habit of sending people on fetch-quests for magic fungus and the like. His family had never had a good relationship with the beasts, so this one was likely to cough a hairball on his shoes for good measure. He'd nearly killed the bloody thing and what did it do? It had just _smiled_. It had been a creepy Cheshire Grin, but it was still far less creepy than he actually deserved.

Hatter dusted off his hat and flipped it onto his head. Maybe—just maybe—his own luck was about to change. With that thought, he turned and ran for the Looking Glass Chamber.

"Just place the ring in here."

Alice set the ring into the fitting. The jewel glowed like a lightening bug and the mirror hummed to life. Her reflection rippled gently. When the mirror settled, she got a good look at herself for the first time in days. She looked tired and the dark plum coat made her look paler than usual and it was not necessarily in a good way. She twisted a button on the sleeve. It was Hatter's coat, really. She wanted to keep it, contemplated it for a bare second, and then felt it wouldn't be proper. She didn't really have a right to it, even though she had grown to like it.

"Charlie?" She called to the knight as she shrugged the jacket off her shoulders. "Make sure Hatter gets this back for me? And tell him—" She froze. Tell him what? They had done so much together in such a short time. What on in the world could she say?

Looking sad, Charlie took the coat from her stilled hands. "I'll tell him, Alice of Legend." The soft velvet slipped past her fingers, and she felt brittle inside.

"Thanks, Charlie."

Too soon, Jack was saying good-bye and a technician was tugging at her elbow. Alice turned back to the mirror. It was now running silently. Its surface was perfectly still. Over her reflection's shoulder, she could see Charlie, and Jack, and—

"Hatter!"

He was pushing his way through the crowd of oysters and scientists, muttering apologies and curses in turns. His coat was dusty and his hat more cock-eyed than usual. Alice stepped off the platform, roughly shoving aside two of Jack's guards who were too slow to move.

"Thank god, I was afraid I missed you!" he said, looking dazed.

"Yeah, well, you cut it a little close!" She stopped short in front of him. Was that grass in his hair? The crowd was watching a little too eagerly, so she tried to lower her voice from a shout. "Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"I got way-laid by a Cheshire Cat."

"You got distracted by a _cat_?"

"It was a bit more than a cat!"

An ecstatic Charlie appeared over her shoulder, deflating her shock. "A Cheshire Cat! Oh, frabjous day that brings such wonders! The Harbinger has encountered the most fabulous of monsters."

Luckily for everyone within three feet of her fists, Jack interruped Charlie to explain. "Cheshires are rare creatures, Alice, deeply connected to the soul of Wonderland. They usually bring portents and quests. It is not wise to upset them. You're okay?" Hatter nodded. Jack then placed a light hand on her elbow and lead them to an alcove away from the crowds. "We'll start returning the other Oysters now. I'm sure you both have much to discuss." With a sad smile, he faded back to the crowd. There was a moment of heavy silence between Alice and Hatter, before she could think of anything to say.

"So. A Cheshire Cat?"

"Yeah, a great big furry one. I am so sorry I'm late. I thought it was going to send me after the Red Queen's Crown."

Alice frowned at him, feeling lost again. "The Red Queen? But…didn't we just…" She gestured inanely over her shoulder, trying to indicate the past few days.

Hatter's eyes got wide. "No, that was the Queen of Hearts. The Red Queen is an entirely different lineage."

Suddenly, Alice remembered. There were other queens in the second book. There was a whole other book of Wonderland. The Red Queen, the White Queen, the Lion and the Unicorn…

Hatter was still trying to explain himself, stammering about kingdoms and cats and some Third Rule of Wonderland. He was starting to look panicked, so she laid a hand on his arm.

"It's okay, Hatter. I believe you."

Her words caught his attention. The look of relief on his face nearly broke her heart. Her hand slid down his arm and she laced her fingers with his. Standing there and looking at their entwined hands, something strange seemed to take hold of him. His dark eyes got softer and his voice got quieter.

"You know, not all of Wonderland is Jabberwocks and insane queens. I could—" he took a breath "—I could show you some of the nicer bits, if you wanted to stick 'round for a few days."

He looked up into her eyes then, his face all nervous hope. Alice couldn't help the smile that bubbled up within her. "Yes. I'd like that." The same smile broke across Hatter's face as she continued. "I'd like that very much."

Suddenly, his arms were around her and pulling her into a breathless hug. He was laughing. "Brilliant! I don't know what I'd have done if you said no."

Alice rested her head on the soft leather of his jacket, feeling tension leave his shoulders. A thought drifted into her head: _I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't asked_. The words caught in her throat, however; the feeling was strange and almost too much. Instead, she whispered into his ear, "Just no flying flamingoes, okay?" His answering chuckle released a flock of butterflies in her chest.

Hatter stepped back to look at her. Slowly, his eyes narrowed. "Hang on—where's your coat?"

Out of nowhere Charlie appeared, handing the jacket off to Hatter and disappearing just as quickly.

At his confused look, Alice felt something like guilt in her heart. "I didn't want…I thought you might want it back." His expression didn't change, so she kept stammering. "I wasn't sure and you weren't here, so I..."

He shook his head and held out the coat with a flourish and a small smile. "Nope." She slipped her arms into the sleeves as he lifted it to her shoulders. Hatter leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It's yours now. You can't give it back." One hand trailed across her back as she turned, leaving a track of warm electricity that shot straight to her heart. He held out his hand.

"Shall we?"

They walked out into the sunlight. Together.


End file.
